Quick Fixes When Time is Short

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Let’s face it. We all have busy lives, and sometimes, the thought of scrapbooking can be overwhelming. We love the idea of it, but if we think of it as a chore, or something else we have to check off our list, then it often gets put on the back burner. There are a few quick fixes that can help us stay organized, and not get too overwhelmed.

For example, a few years ago, my husband and I went to Europe together. We visited both Italy and France in a whirlwind 17 day adventure. It was my first time going overseas, and visiting another country. I was beyond excited. So, guess how many pictures I took? A lot. Hundreds. When I got home, being the avid scrapbooker I am, I felt overwhelmed by how long it would take me to get the photos into a scrapbook album with beautiful journaling and cute embellishments. So, instead, I came up with another idea.

When you are in a situation like this where you have hundreds of photos from one event or trip, rather than get yourself stressed thinking you have to now make them “cute” try this simple solution. I bought 2 small albums that would fit 160 photos each. These albums were perfect because they were made for you to just slide your photos into a slot. But, since the trip was so special to me, I wanted to do a little more. I also wanted to journal about our adventures. In these albums, there was a space with lines on it beside each photo slot to do just that. So, I was able to organize my photos quickly, and document what we had done before I forgot it. You can use this idea as a temporary fix or a long term one. Depending on if you ever get around to scrapbooking them for real.

Another idea is to organize your photos in a way that makes sense to you. For example, if you visited various cities on a trip, try getting sheet protectors to put your photos in temporarily. Type up a synopsis of each city and what you did on your computer. Print out that synopsis, and put it in the sheet protector. Then, when you have your photos in hand, simple put a group of photos into the sheet protectors that correspond to the city, or description. When you have time, you will have the pictures already organized, and the information already documented. It’s as easy as that.

Do not put pressure on yourself to immediately sit down and start scrapping! Who has time to do that everyday? But, do try and think of ways to keep those photos organized in the mean time so that you will easily have all the information ready when the time is right!

Meredith Ethington is the author of this blog. To learn more about Meredith, and her history with Scrapbooking and Genealogy, go here.